Skip to main content

About the Office

 

The Office of the General Counsel provides legal advice to all Vanderbilt University departments in areas covering contracts, intellectual property, taxation, business matters, and personnel issues (including tenure). All litigation proceedings are managed by the Office of the General Counsel on behalf of the university.

Mission

The mission of the Office of the General Counsel is to provide excellent, timely, responsive legal advice to support Vanderbilt’s goals in research, education, and healthcare. Our dedicated staff offers proactive, collaborative solutions to the wide range of legal matters affecting the university. We carry out our responsibilities in an ethical, positive way that furthers the university’s values of equality, excellence, compassion, and intellectual freedom.


The Office of the General Counsel upholds the ideals of Vanderbilt University and its legal traditions. These traditions reflect the ideals of humane learning, the value of reason, and the significance of history in justifying laws. Law is, in many ways, the enactment of tradition. In honor of Vanderbilt's rich and growing history, we present a slideshow of historic photos from campus life. We extend our thanks to the Vanderbilt Photography Archives for their help in searching out and assembling these images.


Our office works closely with  Risk Management  and the  Compliance Office . The General Counsel is responsible to the Office of the  VU Board of Trust .